McDonald was supposed to only be a guest star, but as he explains, "Like many guest stars who are on David E. Kelley shows, if he likes what he sees, he creates that character and keeps writing to it, so that I became a guest star who did 12 episodes."

As to what Kelley liked, McDonald says, "Humor, I think. He responded to that, because Thomas Jefferson is written as a blowhard and as a very self-aggrandizing kind of media whore. He saw that I could do that and be full and embrace it.

"I've had success as bad guys, so playing people who don't come out smelling like a rose doesn't bother me in the least. I just find what's good about them, what's playable about them, what's likable about them. I go for that."

Although they face each other in court, Tommy and Harry have an interesting relationship

"We discovered," says McDonald, "by episode three, that this is a very lonely, needy, sad man. He's a terrific attorney, but he's a player in his own mind. Ultimately he's alone, and that's a lovely dimension.

"He really reaches out to Harry, because she's the real deal. She shoots from the hip; she doesn't pull any punches. That's a tremendous asset in someone who's respected for who she is, and she is a terrific attorney at the same time."